An Analysis of the Implementation of Acquisition Reform Initiatives and Contract Cost Variance

This thesis examines the impact of acquisition reform initiatives implemented since 1993 on contract cost performance. Many initiatives implemented during the 1990s focused on saving the government money in procuring weapon systems. For decades, cost overruns have plagued Department of Defense weapons systems development and procurement costing the government money. The passage of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA) of 1994 and the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, marked significant congressional action on aiding the Department of Defense develop and procure systems cheaper. Conclusions drawn in this thesis may aid leadership in supporting current initiatives and drafting new changes. This research effort studied 204 contracts completed between January 1, 1994 and December 31, 2001. It was discovered that cost performance for contracts completed after reform initiative implementation was no different than cost performance on contracts completed before implementation. The research also analyzed cost performance on all active contracts from 1970 to 2002 against the backdrop of acquisition reform studies and commissions over the same time period, to examine any trends or time lags between reform implementation and contract cost performance change.

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